Admit it: we all thought Lerone Murphy would have his rhythm broken when Josh Emmett lifted the Britisher up in the air and tossed him aside. The move, aided by Emmett’s resilience, extracted quite a bit of cheer from the fighting realm. He was the favorite fighter, but Murphy outscored him on the feet and won via a unanimous decision following the 5-round battle at UFC Vegas 105. Yet, even with just 25 minutes in the Octagon, all eyes were fixed on ‘CC0’, with the question ‘What’s next?’ glaring at the featherweight.
Following the bout, as he received nothing but boos from the audience, Murphy said, “Listen, it’s all right. 16-0, what? Easy work. I just have to fight my game. He’s got one-punch knockout power. I couldn’t make any mistakes. Intelligent performance. I was sound defensively. I dropped him with a left hand. It was a quality performance.” ‘The Miracle’ had a defensive tactic working for him.
The thing to note here is that Murphy wasn’t stagnant. He kept on moving and denied ‘CC0’ a clean shot either by blocking his right fist or simply slipping. That created an opening which let the Brit attack with a one-two combo. On top of that, he seemed to have a great gas tank, even against the pressure that Emmett exerted throughout the fight. It made it all the more harder to watch a man who defeated the likes of Dan Ige, Calvin Kattar, and Bryce Mitchell, lose 3 out of his last 4 fights. Nevertheless, Emmett sent another wave of cheer with a promise on social media.
Taking to X, the Californian featherweight contender revealed that he was ready to make a comeback. The #8 featherweight contender wrote, “Big thanks to everyone in my camp and all my supporters. No damage taken—ready for the next one. I’ll be back soon! #TeamEmmett.” Following the loss, Emmett can be expected to witness a fall from the #8 featherweight spot to the #9 spot. And after that, fans can certainly hope that Dana White puts him up against a ranked opponent, striving for a win.
Big thanks to everyone in my camp and all my supporters. No damage taken—ready for the next one. I’ll be back soon! #TeamEmmett
— JOSH EMMETT (@JoshEmmettUFC) April 7, 2025
While reality glazed UFC Vegas 105 with a victory for Lerone Murphy, the fighting community had a different plan for the headliner fight. Knowing Emmett’s one-punch knockout strength, the fighting realm previously believed that he would be the one to win. But now, it was nothing more than wishful thinking. However, the featherweight contenders seemed to talk about it as a joke.
Josh Emmett and Lerone Murphy play out an outcome on social media
Right after the exciting 5-round fight, ‘The Miracle’ shared a picture on X that created quite an uproar in the fighting world. The picture showed Emmett walking away from a sleeping Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296. Well, that was the kind of outcome that the fight fans expected at the main event for UFC on ESPN 65. Murphy captioned, “You guys must have wanted this to be me? No, thanks.”
Even Emmett believed that the outcome would have been amazing. He replied, “Would have been more exciting! ” However, Murphy was undeniably the stronger of the two. And now, with his 16th win in an undefeated spree, he can definitely expect a matchup against one of the Top 5 featherweight contenders – and well, he did call for a fight against Brian Ortega during his post-fight interview. But the fight fans have already put their energy into wondering about Emmett’s next opponent. Will Dana White let him fight a Top 10 featherweight this year?
What are your thoughts on Emmett’s promise to return stronger? If the duo engaged in a rematch, do you think ‘CC0’ can manage to secure a win over Murphy? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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